This Consumer Duty guide includes five tips to help you prepare and, later this month, we'll publish a Good Practice Guide to the Consumer Duty Board Reporting with input from various expert sources, including Alliance Affiliate, Kroll. We’ll also be hosting a Consumer Duty Board Report webinar in May, and proportionality means this will be very relevant to firms of all sizes - watch this space!
We continue to liaise with the FCA on a variety of topics and we’re also helping them get more direct exposure to practitioners, the first instance of this is a senior team presenting at The Investment Network’s distribution event this week.
You may have noticed that the New Talent Alliance launched towards end of March. It generated a lot of media interest and enquiries from others in the sector wanting to find out more or offer to be involved. Things are moving quickly and I was delighted to attend the first Steering Group meeting on 9 April. Chaired by Tom Hegarty, and supported by LIBF as Secretariat, the team discussed the forum’s objectives, strategies, and action plans for the future with support for small firms a priority.
Alliance webinars continue to prove very popular. The most recent Technology Forum looked at how technology can help to demonstrate ongoing service and advice, almost 250 people registered and a recording will be available shortly.
Our next Consumer Duty Champions’ Forum, on Thursday 2 May, looks at the Duty's consumer understanding and consumer support outcomes. Attendees will learn how Hargreaves Lansdown approach these requirements, and discover how behavioural science insights can help you achieve and evidence consumer understanding.
Lastly, a reminder about the Consumer Duty Leadership Awards. There are eight categories to choose from and the deadline for applications is 31 May 2024. I’m pleased to be on the judging panel and encourage all Alliance members to consider making an application.
To be reorganised as a true profession - united we succeed, divided we fail!
Very best wishes,
Keith Richards, CEO, Consumer Duty Alliance and Chairman, Financial Vulnerability Taskforce